Pelosi vents about Gibbs

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bashed White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Tuesday night, even as the president's top spokesman continued to backpedal from his assertion that Democrats could lose control of the House in the November election.

The fusillade from Pelosi and other Democrats at a closed-door meeting escalated an already fiery clash between the White House and its own party in Congress. During the tense evening meeting, the speaker grilled the top White House aide in attendance, senior legislative affairs staffer Dan Turton, about the impact of Gibbs' comments.

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"How could [Gibbs] know what is going on in our districts?" Pelosi told her members in the caucus meeting in the basement of the Capitol Tuesday night. "Some may weigh his words more than others. We have made our disagreement known to the White House."

Then she turned to Turton and asked him to acknowledge that Gibbs' comments had been damaging to the Democratic cause, Democratic insiders said. Gibbs was not in the room for this meeting.

Turton, responding to both Pelosi and accusations from Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), said Gibbs was speaking off the cuff and not from prepared material during a controversial appearance on Meet the Press Sunday, sources said.

The outburst from House Democrats illustrates the pressure lawmakers are feeling from an impending election and the strain of the tension – and occasionally enmity— that has characterized relations between an increasingly unpopular president and a House majority facing the possibility of huge electoral losses.

Democratic lawmakers also tried to pin their woes on the White House, saying that control of the House might not be in play if the Obama administration had done a better job of messaging on the party's agenda and accomplishments.

And while Gibbs’ remarks on “Meet the Press” on Sunday comport with the judgment of political prognosticators, they frustrated Democrats who understood the power they could have as fodder for Republicans in building support – financial and otherwise – for their House campaigns.

"I think there's no doubt there are enough seats in play that could cause Republicans to gain control. There’s no doubt about that. This will depend on strong campaigns by Democrats," Gibbs said on Sunday.

By the next morning, Democratic strategists were fuming privately that he had handed Republicans a great fundraising and voter-motivation tool.

Gibbs and other White House officials have been backpedaling, in carefully measured steps, ever since.

By Tuesday, Gibbs was saying “I think we’ll retain the House. I was asked if there were enough seats in play, and I think there are.”